On 11 June 2026, the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU published the long-awaited Negotiating Box for the Multiannual Financial Framework 2028-2034. The document sets out how the EU's next seven-year budget could be structured. It arrived timely just few days before the European Council summit on 18-19 June, where heads of state and government will hold their first political discussion on the basis of this text.

As explicitly mentioned in the official note from the Council of the EU, the Negobox is not binding on any delegation, and the Presidency continues to be guided by the principle that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.  

The Presidency proposes a total MFF budget of €1,730 billion in commitment appropriations (in 2025 prices) over the seven-year period. This represents roughly a 2% reduction compared to the Commission's original proposal of €1,763 billion, published in July 2025. The proposed cut is mainly affecting the Competitiveness Fund (Heading 2) and Global Europe (Heading 3).

The budget is structured around four headings, replacing the current seven:

Heading 1 – Cohesion, Agriculture, Rural and Maritime, Prosperity and Security (€942 billion) is by far the largest, covering more than half of the budget. It is the largest heading and covers regional and cohesion funds, the Common Agricultural Policy, fisheries, migration and border management, and the repayment of NextGenerationEU borrowing.

Heading 2 – Competitiveness, Prosperity and Security (€502 billion) covers the new European Competitiveness Fund (€199 billion), Horizon Europe (€149 billion), the Connecting Europe Facility (€69 billion), Erasmus+ (€35 billion), and defence-related spending.

Heading 3 – Global Europe (€183 billion) finances external action, enlargement, development cooperation, humanitarian aid, and support for Ukraine.

Heading 4 – Administration (€104 billion)

Cohesion policy remains a core part of the budget, with a dedicated allocation reserved for less developed regions. Cohesion, CAP, fisheries, and home affairs funding will all be channelled through a single instrument per Member State, the National and Regional Partnership Plan (NRPP). The ECF will be managed through national plans, with Member States in the driver's seat. Regions can play a formal role as managing authorities, and the framework references multi-level governance, but how much regions shape their national plan comes down to domestic political will.

On research and innovation: almost two years after the publication of the Draghi report on EU competitiveness, which called for a step change in European investment in research and innovation, the Negotiating Box proposes €149 billion for Horizon Europe, a reduction of nearly 4% compared to the Commission's original proposal and more than double the overall MFF cut of around 2%. The proposed cut has raised concerns among the research and innovation community, who question whether it is consistent with the EU's broader competitiveness goals.

In the Council proposal, the ECF will be structured around four policy windows (all figures in 2025 prices, with the EC's original proposal in brackets):

• Clean transition and industrial decarbonisation: €22.2 billion (€23.2 billion)
• Health, biotech, agriculture and bioeconomy: €19.2 billion (€20 billion)
• Digital leadership: €46.6 billion (€48.5 billion)
• Resilience and security, defence industry and space: €110.9 billion (€115,7 billion)

Horizon Europe would see a reduction from €154.9 to €148.6 billion.

The Negotiating Box will form the basis for continued negotiations under the Irish Presidency in the second half of 2026, with the aim of reaching a final agreement by the end of the year. For a more detailed timeline, consult this link.

Note: All figures in this article are expressed in 2025 prices.